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A pair of Upstate New York nonprofits announced the launch of a new program in Rochester that hopes to place 270 area residents in manufacturing jobs over two years.
RochesterWorks and the Young Adults Manufacturing Training Employment Program (YAMTEP) received an $862,000 grant from the state’s economic development agency to bolster the ROCSEEDS initiative, which will use a training program developed by YAMTEP that has already led to employment for hundreds in the area in recent years.
YAMTEP provides basic manufacturing training and connections to local businesses to individuals with little work experience or other barriers to the workforce, such as gun violence victims or those with past criminal convictions. Its curriculum includes job readiness and “soft skills,” as well as forklift certification, CNC training, and other job skills training.
In addition to the YAMTEP curriculum, the ROCSEEDS program will take advantage of its transportation infrastructure, as well as supportive services — such as childcare and other basic needs — through the RochesterWorks Youth Services Program.
The initiative will primarily enroll Rochester residents, and up to 70 will be local high school students that will have paths to manufacturing careers upon graduation.
Tyrone Reaves, the founder and president of YAMTEP and the owner of Rochester contract manufacturer TruForm Manufacturing, said the announcement would benefit not just the enrolled individuals and their families but the community as a whole.
